AV1 and H.265 (HEVC) are two of the most capable video codecs available today — but they make very different trade-offs. AV1 delivers 30–50% better compression than H.265 at the same quality level and costs nothing to license. H.265 encodes faster, runs on a much broader base of hardware, and supports Dolby Vision — but comes with fragmented patent licensing that adds real cost and legal complexity.
This guide breaks down exactly how AV1 vs H.265 compare across compression efficiency, encoding speed, hardware and device support, browser compatibility, licensing, and real-world streaming use cases so you can make an informed choice for your project.
What Are AV1 and H.265 (HEVC)?
AV1
The AV1 codec (AOMedia Video 1) is an open, royalty-free video codec developed by the Alliance for Open Media — a consortium that includes Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, Meta, and Intel. Released in 2018, AV1 was designed to succeed VP9 and compete directly with H.265/HEVC. Its biggest advantages are 30–50% better compression than HEVC and zero licensing fees.
AV1 achieves its efficiency through advanced prediction tools: intra-frame block prediction, motion compensation, a constrained directional enhancement filter (CDEF), and a loop restoration filter. The reference encoder is libaom-av1. For production use, SVT-AV1 (Scalable Video Technology for AV1), developed by Intel and Netflix, is the practical choice — it’s far faster than libaom while preserving most of AV1’s compression gains.
H.265 / HEVC
H.265, also called High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), is the ISO/IEC and ITU-T standard that succeeded H.264/AVC. Finalized in 2013, it delivers roughly double the compression efficiency of H.264 at equivalent visual quality — the same video at half the video bitrate. It’s supported on virtually every device manufactured since 2015.
HEVC uses larger coding tree units (CTUs) up to 64×64 pixels, more flexible motion compensation, and improved intra-prediction compared to H.264. The most widely used software encoder is x265. Hardware encoders are available from Nvidia (NVENC), Intel (Quick Sync), AMD (VCE), Apple (VideoToolbox), and Qualcomm — making HEVC hardware encoders broadly accessible across the device ecosystem.
If you’re looking at the codec generation before H.265, the HEVC vs H.264 comparison covers that transition in detail.
AV1 vs H.265: Full Comparison
| Feature | AV1 | H.265 (HEVC) |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2018 | 2013 |
| Developer | Alliance for Open Media | ISO/IEC & ITU-T (MPEG) |
| Licensing | Royalty-free | Multiple patent pools (paid) |
| Compression vs H.264 | ~50% better | ~50% better |
| Compression vs each other | AV1 is 30–50% better | Baseline |
| Software encode speed | 10–50x slower than H.265 | Fast (x265 is mature, well-tuned) |
| Hardware encode support | RTX 40-series, Intel Arc, AMD RDNA3 | All major GPUs since 2016 |
| Hardware decode support | Android 10+, modern TVs, A17 Pro/M3+ | Universal (virtually all devices) |
| Browser support | Chrome 70+, Firefox 67+, Safari 16+, Edge | Safari native; Chrome/Firefox inconsistent |
| Live streaming | Emerging (OBS 29.1+, YouTube only) | Strong, broad support |
| Dolby Vision | Not supported | Supported |
| HDR formats | HDR10, HDR10+, HLG | HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, Dolby Vision |
| 4K support | Yes | Yes |
Compression Efficiency: How Much Smaller Are AV1 Files?
AV1 consistently outperforms H.265 on compression at equivalent visual quality. The improvement varies by content type:
- Animation and screen-recorded content: 40–60% smaller files vs H.265
- High-motion sports and live action: 20–30% smaller
- Standard narrative film / talking heads: 30–40% smaller
A practical example: a 10-minute 4K video that takes 1.5 GB in H.265 would typically be 900 MB–1.05 GB in AV1 at the same perceived quality. The MSU Codec Comparison Group found AV1 achieves an average bitrate of 55% compared to x265 at 67% for equivalent VMAF scores — a roughly 25–30% overall efficiency advantage.
This efficiency has direct business impact. Better file compression translates to lower CDN bandwidth costs, reduced storage requirements, and the ability to deliver 4K content at bitrates previously reserved for 1080p.
CRF Equivalence
For practical encoding decisions, AV1 at CRF 27 (in SVT-AV1) produces approximately the same perceived quality as H.265 at CRF 21 in x265. The AV1 output will typically be 25–35% smaller.
Does Content Type Change the Outcome?
Yes, significantly. AV1’s compression algorithms are particularly effective on smooth gradients, flat areas, and screen-recorded content — the kind of signal present in animation, presentations, and game recordings. In high-motion sports or film with fast camera movement, the efficiency gap between AV1 and H.265 narrows, though AV1 still wins at the same bitrate.
Encoding Speed: The Trade-Off You Need to Know
This is where H.265 has a substantial real-world advantage over AV1 — at least in software.
The libaom-av1 reference encoder is notoriously compute-intensive. In worst-case benchmarks, it can take 445 seconds to encode a clip that x265 finishes in under 3 seconds. That’s a 2,500–3,000x speed difference. For production use, libaom at its slowest presets is impractical.
SVT-AV1 solves this for most teams. At preset 4–6, SVT-AV1 approaches x265 encode speeds while still delivering AV1’s compression advantages. The AOM-AV1 3.5 encoder release reduced encoding time by 34% for 1080p and 18–20% for 4K on 32-thread CPUs compared to previous versions.
Hardware AV1 encoding is now available on:
- Nvidia RTX 40-series (Ada Lovelace, 2022+)
- Intel Arc Alchemist GPUs (2022+)
- AMD RDNA3 GPUs (RX 7000 series, 2022+)
Hardware H.265 encoding has been available since 2015 on Nvidia, Intel, AMD, Apple, and Qualcomm — a much broader hardware base. Understanding video encoding basics helps clarify why software-based AV1 encoding is so CPU-intensive: the codec’s compression tools are far more complex to compute than H.265’s.
Encode Speed Summary
| Encoder | Speed | Quality Output |
|---|---|---|
| libaom-av1 (slowest preset) | ~1x baseline | Highest AV1 quality |
| SVT-AV1 (preset 4–6) | ~30–50x faster than libaom | Near-reference quality |
| Nvidia NVENC AV1 (RTX 40-series) | Real-time | Good |
| x265 (medium preset) | 150–300x faster than libaom | Excellent |
| Nvidia NVENC H.265 (RTX 20-series+) | Real-time | Good |
For VOD encoding at scale, SVT-AV1 is the practical production encoder. For live streaming, NVENC AV1 on RTX 40-series is fast enough — but H.265 hardware encoding covers a much larger installed base.
Hardware and Device Support
H.265 has a 5-year head start on AV1, and device coverage reflects that gap.
H.265 hardware decode: Available on virtually every modern device — phones from 2015+, smart TVs from 2016+, all desktop GPUs from AMD, Nvidia, and Intel since 2016, plus every Apple Silicon chip from M1 onward.
AV1 hardware decode:
- Android 10+ (Snapdragon 865+ and newer)
- Google Pixel phones (Tensor chips)
- Samsung, LG, Sony smart TVs from 2020+
- Chromecast with Google TV (2020+)
- Apple A17 Pro (iPhone 15 Pro) and M3 chips
- AMD RX 6000-series+, Nvidia RTX 20-series+, Intel 11th-gen+
AV1 hardware encode requires hardware that supports both decode and encode — a smaller subset:
- Nvidia RTX 40-series only (RTX 20/30 can decode but not encode AV1)
- Intel Arc Alchemist GPUs
- AMD RDNA3 (RX 7000 series)
One notable nuance in the Apple ecosystem: M1 and M2 chips support AV1 hardware decode but not AV1 hardware encode. Final Cut Pro and most Apple-native export tools still default to H.264 or H.265.
Practical device coverage estimate:
- H.265 playback: ~95% of active devices worldwide
- AV1 playback: ~60–70% of active devices worldwide (growing fast)
For apps targeting audiences with older Android devices, budget smart TVs from 2017–2019, or Windows machines without discrete GPUs, AV1 compatibility gaps can cause real playback failures.
Browser Support
AV1 now has strong browser support across modern versions:
| Browser | AV1 Support | H.265 Support |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome | Full (v70+) | v107+ with hardware decode required |
| Firefox | Full (v67+) | No native support |
| Edge | Full (v79+) | With HEVC Video Extension on Windows |
| Safari | Full (v16+) | Full native (Apple hardware) |
| Opera | Full | Limited |
For web video delivery, AV1 is actually more consistent across browsers than H.265. Chrome and Firefox don’t natively support H.265 without hardware decode or extensions — which means H.265 video in a standard
Licensing: Royalty-Free vs. Patent Pools
This is one of the most practically important differences between the two codecs.
AV1 is completely royalty-free. The Alliance for Open Media specifically designed AV1 to sidestep the licensing complexity that created problems for H.265. Anyone can encode, decode, distribute, or build products using AV1 without paying royalties — forever.
H.265 has a fragmented, multi-pool licensing structure that is widely considered the most complex in video codec history:
| Patent Pool | Description |
|---|---|
| MPEG LA | Major industry consortium of patent holders |
| HEVC Advance | Separate group demanding higher royalties |
| Velos Media | Spun off from Technicolor's HEVC portfolio |
Royalties for streaming services are typically structured around subscriber counts (~$0.025 per subscriber) or device deployments. For a streaming platform with millions of subscribers, this adds up to significant annual licensing costs. For developers building tools or APIs, the royalties are often paid upstream by device manufacturers — but the legal complexity still creates contractual headaches and exposure.
AV1's royalty-free status is a primary reason YouTube, Netflix, Meta, and most major streaming platforms are actively investing in AV1 adoption rather than doubling down on HEVC.
Streaming Platform Adoption
AV1 adoption:
- YouTube began rolling out AV1 for 4K content in 2018 and has expanded it to most desktop browsers
- Netflix started AV1 streaming for Android in 2020; now uses it for mobile VOD delivery
- Facebook Watch uses AV1 for mobile VOD
- Google mandated AV1 decode in all new Android TV/Google TV devices starting in 2021
- OBS Studio added AV1 encoding support in version 29.1 (2023)
H.265 dominance:
- Apple's full ecosystem: iCloud Photos, iPhone video recording, Apple TV+ all use HEVC
- Professional broadcast, IPTV, satellite delivery, and Blu-ray all default to H.265
- Most hardware capture cards and professional cameras output H.265
Live streaming today: H.265 remains the practical choice for live streaming infrastructure. Broader hardware encoder support, better compatibility with ingest servers, and years of optimization in tools like OBS give it an operational advantage. AV1 live streaming is possible with RTX 40-series hardware and OBS 29.1+, but destination support is narrow — YouTube accepts AV1 uploads, but Twitch does not yet support AV1 streaming.
Use Cases: When to Choose AV1 vs H.265
Choose AV1 When:
- VOD delivery at scale — The bandwidth savings directly reduce CDN costs. At 50M streams/month, even a 30% bitrate reduction makes a measurable difference in infrastructure spend.
- Web-first streaming — AV1 browser support is strong enough for most modern audiences, and H.265 browser support is less reliable outside Safari.
- Licensing-sensitive products — Skip the HEVC patent pool complexity entirely.
- YouTube publishing — YouTube natively plays AV1 to compatible viewers, so publishing in AV1 improves delivered quality without extra steps.
- Mobile-heavy audiences with modern devices — Android 10+ and iPhone 15 Pro+ handle AV1 decode well with hardware acceleration.
Choose H.265 When:
- Live streaming — Broader hardware encoder support, wider ingest server compatibility, and better tool coverage make H.265 the safer live streaming codec today.
- Apple ecosystem workflows — Final Cut Pro, iPhone recording, and Apple TV distribution all default to HEVC. Converting away adds complexity for minimal gain.
- Professional broadcast — Industry-standard monitors, capture hardware, and delivery specs all expect H.265.
- Dolby Vision HDR — Dolby Vision requires H.264 or H.265 as the base layer. AV1 doesn't support it.
- Targeting older devices — If your audience includes users on Android 7–9, budget TVs from 2018–2019, or PCs without discrete GPUs, H.265 reaches far more devices without fallback logic.
- Gaming recordings and streaming — NVENC H.265 is available on RTX 20-series and later, covering a much larger gaming PC install base than NVENC AV1 (RTX 40-series only). Twitch's lack of AV1 support is also a practical limiting factor.
Content Type Performance Breakdown
| Content Type | AV1 Advantage | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Animation / screen recording | Strong (40–60% smaller) | Flat areas and gradients compress very well |
| Talking head / webinar | Good (30–40% smaller) | Skin tones and limited motion benefit AV1 |
| Cinematic film | Good (25–35% smaller) | AV1 handles grain poorly; add film grain synthesis |
| High-motion sports | Moderate (20–30% smaller) | Encoding speed matters more here |
| Live events | H.265 preferred | Hardware encoder availability is decisive |
| Professional broadcast | H.265 preferred | Dolby Vision, broadcast tool compatibility |
For teams building streaming applications, the codec choice rarely exists in isolation. The encoder infrastructure, CDN delivery chain, and player compatibility all need to align — and maintaining multi-codec output pipelines adds real operational overhead. If you're at the point of choosing between AV1 and H.265, you're also likely thinking about how video encoding for streaming fits into your stack.
How to Implement AV1 and H.265
FFmpeg Encoding Examples
For H.265 with x265 (software):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libx265 -crf 28 -preset medium -c:a aac output.hevc.mp4
For AV1 with SVT-AV1 (software):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v libsvtav1 -crf 35 -preset 5 -c:a libopus output.av1.webm
For hardware H.265 (Nvidia NVENC):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v hevc_nvenc -preset p5 -cq 28 output.hevc.mp4
For hardware AV1 (Nvidia NVENC, RTX 40-series):
ffmpeg -i input.mp4 -c:v av1_nvenc -cq 35 output.av1.mp4
Multi-Codec Delivery with Adaptive Bitrate
Most production streaming stacks don't pick a single codec — they encode multiple renditions and let adaptive bitrate streaming serve the right format to each viewer. A typical ABR ladder might include:
- AV1 renditions for Chrome/Firefox desktop and Android 10+ mobile
- H.265 renditions for Safari, Apple TV, and broadcast delivery
- H.264 renditions as a fallback for older devices
Delivered via HLS, this multi-codec manifest lets players negotiate the best codec their hardware supports.
Managing this encoding ladder in-house means building and maintaining separate transcoding jobs, storage, and manifest logic for each codec. A video transcoding API like LiveAPI handles this automatically — upload once and get HLS-compatible renditions ready for playback in seconds, with instant encoding that makes videos available without waiting for the full file to process. For teams that want to ship video features fast rather than build encoder pipelines from scratch, that's a significant reduction in encoding pipeline complexity.
The Future: AV2 and H.266/VVC
The codec landscape will keep evolving.
AV2 (AOMedia Video 2): The Alliance for Open Media is developing AV2 as AV1's successor. Early projections show 20–30% efficiency gains over AV1 — translating to roughly 50–65% better compression than H.265. AV2 is not expected to be finalized before 2027–2028.
H.266 / VVC (Versatile Video Coding): The MPEG successor to H.265, finalized in 2020. VVC delivers roughly 30–50% better compression than HEVC — comparable to AV1. As of 2026, hardware support is virtually nonexistent, and the licensing structure mirrors HEVC's complexity. Adoption will be slow.
The trajectory is clear: AV1 is likely to become the dominant VOD streaming codec over the next 3–5 years as device support matures. For teams planning a new platform today, building AV1 support into your architecture from the start is a defensible long-term bet — while keeping H.265 compatibility for the devices and workflows that still need it.
AV1 vs H.265 FAQ
Is AV1 better than H.265?
AV1 delivers 30–50% better compression than H.265 at equivalent visual quality and is completely royalty-free. For VOD streaming at scale, AV1 is the better choice on compression and licensing grounds. For live streaming, broadcast workflows, or Apple ecosystem delivery, H.265 still has practical advantages in hardware support, tool compatibility, and Dolby Vision support.
Does AV1 have better video quality than H.265?
At the same bitrate, AV1 produces noticeably better visual quality than H.265. At the same quality level (measured by VMAF or SSIM), AV1 files are 30–50% smaller. Neither codec is inherently "higher quality" — AV1 achieves the same quality at a lower bitrate.
Why is AV1 encoding so slow?
The libaom reference encoder prioritizes compression efficiency over speed. In worst-case benchmarks, it's 2,500–3,000x slower than x265. For production use, SVT-AV1 at preset 4–6 approaches x265 speeds and is the standard choice for AV1 encoding at scale. Hardware AV1 encoding on RTX 40-series, Intel Arc, or AMD RDNA3 enables real-time encoding.
What is SVT-AV1?
SVT-AV1 (Scalable Video Technology for AV1) is an open-source AV1 encoder developed by Intel and Netflix. At preset 4–6, it's 30–50x faster than libaom while retaining most of AV1's compression gains. It's the recommended encoder for production AV1 video transcoding workflows.
Does my iPhone support AV1?
iPhone 15 Pro and later (Apple A17 Pro chip) and all M3-based Macs support hardware AV1 decode. However, no current Apple hardware supports hardware AV1 encode — M1 and M2 chips can decode AV1 but cannot hardware-encode it. iPhone video recording still uses HEVC.
Is H.265 free to use?
No. H.265/HEVC involves multiple patent pools: MPEG LA, HEVC Advance, and Velos Media. Royalties are typically structured around subscriber counts or device deployments (~$0.025 per subscriber for streaming services). For most web developers, royalties are paid upstream by device manufacturers — but legal exposure varies by use case. AV1 has no royalties.
Which codec is better for live streaming?
H.265 is the stronger choice for live streaming in 2026. Broader hardware encoder availability (RTX 20-series, Intel Quick Sync, AMD VCE, Apple VideoToolbox), better ingest server compatibility, and more mature tooling give H.265 a clear operational edge. AV1 live streaming is possible with RTX 40-series + OBS 29.1+, but destination platform support is limited.
Does AV1 support Dolby Vision?
No. Dolby Vision requires either H.264 or H.265 as the base layer. AV1 supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG — but not Dolby Vision. For premium streaming services that deliver Dolby Vision content, H.265 is required.
Is AV1 supported in all browsers?
AV1 has solid support in Chrome 70+, Firefox 67+, Edge 79+, Opera, and Safari 16+. H.265 works natively in Safari but requires hardware decode in Chrome and has no native support in Firefox without extensions. For standard web video delivery, AV1 is more consistent across browsers than H.265.
Will AV1 replace H.265?
For online VOD delivery, yes — AV1 is gradually displacing H.265 as device support broadens, driven by Netflix, YouTube, and Meta's active investments. For professional broadcast, Blu-ray, and Apple-native workflows, H.265 will remain dominant for years. The transition is underway but will take several years to reach the device ubiquity H.265 currently has.
If you're building a streaming product and want to deliver AV1 and H.265 without managing separate encoder infrastructure, LiveAPI handles multi-codec transcoding through a simple API — so your team can focus on product features rather than codec pipelines. Try LiveAPI free to see how fast you can go from video upload to playback-ready streams.
